Threats, Abuse, Violence and Intimidation in Child Protection Work: A Comparative Study of Three Occupational Groups in England

Child protection social work in England is increasingly associated with workforce instability, burnout and difficulties retaining experienced practitioners. Although previous research has highlighted the prevalence of threats, abuse, violence and intimidation directed towards child protection social workers, little comparative research has examined whether these experiences are unique to social work, shared across safeguarding professions or reflective of wider occupational experiences. This paper presents findings from a comparative study involving child protection social workers ( n = 207), other professionals working within child protection contexts ( n = 52), and workers employed outside child protection occupations ( n = 56). Drawing on data from three linked online surveys, the study examined exposure to 21 forms of threats, abuse, violence and intimidation, including harassment, physical violence, stalking, misinformation campaigns, malicious online communications and AI‐generated ‘deepfake’ content. Statistical analysis demonstrated that child protection social workers experienced significantly higher levels of exposure across most categories of abuse than both comparison groups. The findings suggest that occupational hostility towards child protection social workers represents a significant workforce and practitioner safety issue with important implications for recruitment, retention, wellbeing, organisational support and contemporary child protection policy and practice.